Signature of Financing Agreement to boost the participation of Russian partners in the Baltic Sea Region Programme
This €8.8 million envelope is in addition to the €263.8 million from the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF) available under the programme. The cooperation programme brings together eight EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Sweden), Russia and Norway to work together for a more innovative, more accessible and sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Referring to the success of the programme, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu said: "For more than 25 years, our cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes have helped EU countries and their neighbours to work together to increase prosperity in their regions, to protect the environment and to achieve a better quality of life for all citizens."
The Baltic Sea Region programme offers funding in four thematic fields: capacity for innovation; management of natural resources; sustainable transport; and support to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. As many as 24 Russian project partners from 15 projects approved in the second call have been awaiting the decision on the Financing Agreement. They are mostly interested in building capacity for innovation and management of natural resources. Most of them are located in the cities of St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Pskov, Petrozavodsk and Gatchina. Presently, the Programme is accepting applications in the third call until 9 April 2018.
"Being part of our common heritage, the Baltic Sea region faces several challenges such as the preservation of the sea ecosystem, better transport connections, and the fight against climate change. Those also define our joint tasks. In a short span of time, the EU and Russia have signed several Cross Border Cooperation Programmes, including with Poland and Lithuania recently, and now they are topped by the Baltic Sea Region programme. This proves that in trying times, the EU and Russia are capable and ready to cooperate in the areas where their interests coincide", said Markus Ederer, EU Ambassador to the Russian Federation.